Territory



gaat epi-ina N einem sin@ .IOIIN II. WHITNEY, or HELENA, MONTANA TERRITORY.

Letters Patent No. 100,829, dated March 15, 187 0 antedatefl March 5, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN SLUICEBOXES FOR GOLD-MINING.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all 'whom 'it may concern:

Be it known `that 1, JOHN H. WHITNEY, of Helena, in the county of Lewis and Clark, in the Territory/,of Montana, have invented a new and improved Instrument for Fastening False Bottoms or Riles in Sluiee- Boxes; audIfdo hereby declare that the `following is a full and exact description thereof,.reference being had to the annexed drawings and to the letters of refl erencemarked thereon making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l represents a section `of a sluice-box, with rile b fastened lwith my spring little-fastener al d. Letter a, fig. 1, represents one side of sluice-box, the corresponding side c beiugrepresented as turned/down,

'so as more plainly to show the operation of my invention.

Figure 2 represents my invention' detached from sluice-box.

Figure 3 represents the back or side ofthe fastener next to the box in fig. 1, showing the point e that is turned through the long end d of the spring at e, iig. 2. .I

To enable others skilled in the ,art to make and use;

iny invention, I will proceed to describe its construe-f tion and operation.

I manufacture my spring riie-fastener `from any `suitable steel, about one inch wide and about one-half of one-sixteenthoi' au inch thick. The lower end is formed into a triangular spring wedge, letter j.

About one inch from` the point of this Wedge the short side `g is turned ont from the long side l of the spring,land at right angles with the short side' f, so as `to lay ou the top of the riide when the spring'wedge` is inserted in the space between theA edge of `the ritile and sluiee-box. The long side tl is pointed at the upper` end and turned over vand through the side d, so as to form the pointe, fig. 3*.

To use my invention, the sluice-box and riiiie are vconstructed in the usual way, the riile being about two inches narrower than the bottom of the sluiccbox, so as to leave a space of one inch on each side between theriiiie and box. In this space-are usually driven stones or wooden wedges, which is a slow and very unsubstantial method ot' fastening. Instead of stones or wooden wedges, I insert on each side of theV box, in the space a short distance from t-he end of the ritile, on each side, one of my, spring fasteners, pushing the spring wedge tirml y down intothe space, bearing against or pushing the long side'of the wedge against the side of the slnice-box, which forces the point e, fig. 3, into the side of the box,.thus rmly securing the riie to the bottom of the sluice-box.

The great advantage of this fastener over all other modes is, it adjusts itself to any width of space bc Witnesses:

A. COMES, A. J. EDWARDS. 

